CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — Cebu 6th District Representative Daphne A. Lagon has refuted online allegations that ₱7 billion worth of flood-control projects were implemented in her district, calling the posts “inaccurate and misleading.”
Lagon issued a public statement on Monday to clarify that the figures being circulated do not reflect the actual allocation for the 6th District, which covers only Consolacion and Cordova.
“These claims are simply not true. Our district does not receive ₱7 billion for flood-control works,” said the congresswoman.
Lagon emphasized that congressional offices do not design or manage infrastructure projects, including flood-mitigation structures.
“All flood-control and infrastructure works are planned, designed, evaluated, funded, implemented, and audited solely by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),” her statement reads.
Under government procedures, the role of a congressional district is limited to endorsing requests from local government units and communities.
Technical validation, design preparation, costing, contractor selection, and project implementation remain exclusively under DPWH’s mandate.
The solon clarified that the circulating figure appears to have come from combining the budgets of the DPWH 6th Engineering District and the 6th Congressional District.
She noted that the DPWH 6th Engineering District also covers Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City, both of which are lone congressional districts with separate representatives.
Based on official records, the 6th Congressional District typically receives an average of ₱1.3 billion annually for all infrastructure projects combined.
These projects include roads, bridges, school buildings, public structures, street lighting, and various flood-mitigation initiatives in Consolacion and Cordova.
Her office added that some projects circulating online were initiated before her term, or were funded directly by DPWH under regional or national programs, without congressional endorsement.
Lagon said she welcomes a full and transparent validation by any appropriate oversight or investigative body. She encouraged anyone with concerns about project design, cost, or implementation to bring these directly to DPWH as the technically responsible agency.
“While we fully recognize the importance of freedom of expression, this right carries with it the responsibility to avoid causing unwarranted harm to anyone’s reputation, including that of public officials who remain accountable to the people they serve,” the solon added.
Sumbong sa Pangulo: ₱2 billion for flood-control
A review of publicly available documents from Sumbong sa Pangulo, as cited by The Freeman, indicated that Consolacion has a total of 31 flood-control projects amounting to ₱2,094,466,361.68.
These projects are all located in Consolacion, with no listed flood-control projects for Cordova in the same dataset.
The most expensive of these is the Construction of a Flood-Control Structure along Jagobiao Creek from Barangay Casili to Barangay Sacsac, Phase II, costing ₱144.7 million and contracted to Rudhil Construction & Enterprises Inc.
The contractor with the highest number of flood-control projects in Consolacion is Quirante Construction Corporation (formerly Quirante Construction).
| Written by Jonnavie Villa
